Aquarium with grandkids in Texas

I have been in Dallas, Texas for 6 days.  I flew  out Thursday evening and left Tuesday morning giving me 4 full days.

On Monday I took the  kids to an aquarium that is in a near-by mall.  Since the tickets were good for all day, we went back later in the afternoon giving us two great experiences.

 There were bubbles that the kids could crawl up into so that it looked like they were in the water with the fishes.  They were not keen on doing this the first time, but eagerly did it the second time.

They loved the jelly fish.  It is the 2nd exhibit and pulls you into the body of the aquarium.

 We saw these on the 2nd visit.  Notice the hermit crab crawling away from the camera.

 There was an interactive board where you could press for any of 7 types of shark and one manta ray.
They took turns pressing the spots.   The first time we pressed, a big white shark came zooming up to us and startled us. Both kids backed up.
Aaron was especially fascinated with this exhibit.

Abigail's favorite were the sea horses.  She would stay and stare much longer than her brother cared to do.

I always thought sea horses were rigid---don't know why I did.  I was fascinated by how they wrapped their tails around coral.

This was the tunnel in which you were surrounded by fish.  The kids loved this as did I.  I especially liked pointing out the manta rays.  There were small and large ones.

 I love this photo because it shows Abigail exhibiting the fascination of a 3-year-old.

 There was also a wonderful play area where they could take their shoes off and run around in their socks.  Abigail loved the slide whereas Aaron liked climbing to the top and smiling down at me.

Here are my two sweethearts who I very much miss!  It was a wonderful trip and I am so happy and grateful that I got to take it.

Nature Photo

This is taken in my son's back yard.  

The tree is excellent for climbing by his kids.

I like the play of the branches' shadows on the lawn.

Last week and great painting kits

My grandchildren's sitter's son was in the hospital last week,

so my son and his ex had to turn elsewhere for help.

Dillon was at YMCA day-camp all week,

so it was just the girls.

My turn was last Friday,

although I also watched them Thursday evening and 

brought the girls home with me to spend the night.

Addison's attention span isn't the best,

so I went to my box of things I've bought over the year

for when I had the grandkids this summer.

First Peyton, 11, worked on a sun-catcher.

It took a lot of focus and patience,

so she did it when Addy was taking a bath and happily amusing herself

with all the bath toys and bottle of foam soap.

This cost  around 5 dollars and was a nice kit.

She ended up using a paint brush other than the wand 

the kit provided.

 She gave it to me and it is hanging in the laundry room window.

She next moved on to water color

and then when Addy was dressed and ready for the day,

they worked with this textured paint kit.

It was under ten dollars

and was a nice kit of washable bottled paint

and a chart on mixing colors.

Blue, red, and yellow were provided

and a chart on the back directed the mixing for other colors.

  The only thing I would do differently

would be to have a bottle of white on hand

for making lighter colors like pink and lavender.

There were three utensils which were cool and enjoyed by both girls. I had a package of cheap brushes for them to use also.

They also made bracelets and watched Frozen.  The night before they watched Despicable Me II. I am ashamed to say I didn't read to them. My only excuse is the fibromyalgia  fatigue that causes me to overlook the obvious at times.   I finally had to lie down for an hour nap.  Mike took over with a visit to 'the barn'.

They had to be back by 6:30 for Peyton's softball game.

Peyton loves working with her hands and is very interested in tools and machinery, so Mike had her help drill a hole to make a trailer hookup for his wood chipper.  He marveled at how enthusiastic and attentive she was

Last week I also went to school and began getting my room ready.  We teachers begin on Friday August 15th and the kids start on Monday the 18th -- two weeks earlier than usual and in alignment with other schools in Ohio.  However, we will be off Aug. 25 - Sept. 1 for Noble County Fair week.  The school board would not budge about our kids being completely free all week for the fair.  The administration and teachers were willing to meet them part-way with allowing the kids to be off on Wed., Thurs., and Fri., but the board would not meet us there.

I have put together binders of my dad's sermons and are giving them to family members.  Two have been delivered/mailed.  I will be taking my daughter's set in my overnight case on the plane this Thurs. when I fly to Texas for a visit. Each page is in a protective cover.

My husband will remain in Ohio and hopefully will have installed the new sink and vanity for our downstairs bathroom.  The pedestal sink was not working well for us.

Well, that's a summary of at least part of last week.  I hope this week has begun well for you all!

Quotes and Birds

Be like the bird who, pausing in her flight 

awhile on boughs too slight,

feels them give way beneath her,

and yet sings, knowing she hath wings.

Victor Hugo

Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.

Rabindranath Tagore

Because I had my family,

 I felt like I could be a bird and fly and experience and do.

Because I had roots somewhere,

I knew that they would love me no matter what,

and I could always go back home

and they were going to love me.

Gisele Bundchen

 

Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.

Salvador Dali

The bird on the left is either a baby, perhaps,

or a sickly adult.

I don't know enough about birds to know which one it is.

I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird

and not enough of the bad luck of the early worm.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer,

it sings because it has a song.

Maya Angelou

And on a less serious note:

Girdles and wire stays should have never been invented.

No man wants to hug a padded bird cage.

Marilyn Monroe

Which quote do you like best?

Five-Minute Friday: Bloom

This little one blooms in each moment she is awake.

Sleep replenishes her 

and blooming must take a lot of energy 

because she requires 14 hours of sleep per 24.

 She is open to new experiences and greets each one
with the enthusiasm that blesses and makes you wake up
to all around you.

Her imagination is phenomenal and is encouraged every step of the way.

She has a gentle, loving spirit which she freely uses to bless others.

Her fashion sense is all her own.

Her mother takes no credit whether the outfit is cute or a sweet mess

(not matching or on backwards or pjs for grocery shopping).

 She is a lover of music and joyfully plays the piano
and sings with make-believe microphones.

 As she blooms she continually touches others with the love of Christ in the small child. The world is a better place because she is here.  This is my 3-year-old granddaughter Abigail Elizabeth.

For more on the topic of bloom, check out Lisa-Jo's place.

Corner View: Inner Child

My inner-child is expressed through colorful, whimsical, and sometimes downright funky

earrings and an occasional color-packed bracelet.

I just got these off Etsy.   Yep, these are pop tabs.

Then there are colorful metal rings clipped onto the tabs.

I get a kick out of them!

The kids at school love it when I wear my M&M earrings.

They think that is so cool!

I wear them on casual Fridays when I can wear jeans.

These are just a smattering of my earrings---I have lots!

It's one way I express 'me'.

For more views on inner-child, hop on over to Francesca's.

Odds and Ends

I got all the old photographs sorted and packed  together for scrapbooking.

There is a whole box of more stuff to put in Dad's POW scrapbook. 

I set aside photos to give to my cousins of their mothers.

I also bought a small binder and protective page covers,

so that I can make notebooks for my kids

of some of Dad's sermons.

I took time throughout the process

to pet and play with this sweet cat and this lovable, goofy dog.

We have a regular visitor twice a day to our yard and bird feeders.

I leave her food out in the yard,

but she usually is a bit greedy and munches at the feeders.

She always leaves some though!

Hope you have a great week!

Five-Minute Friday: Belong

As a preacher's kid, I often felt the odd-person out. No matter what I did around most of my peers, it was wrong.  Either I was a goodie-two-shoes/angelor the comment would be: "I can't believe a preacher's kid did that!" making me feel terrible on many levels.

I was comfortable with adults and could walk the walk and talk the talk of the perfect preacher's daughter, which always went over well. It wasn't just a facade--I liked being a decent person and I liked that adults liked me.

I didn't get my first real girlfriend until I was 9. It was Dad's 3rd appointment and my first success with peers (granted the first appointment I was ages 1 - 3.)

Eventually I married (age 19 --too early) and went from the fish bowl of a minister's life to a bigger fishbowl of a successful business family. His parents liked me, but again I had problem with couples. The ones in which he liked the males, I was a bit off-beat with the wives with the exception of one who became my best friend for 15 years. But even she did not understand why I wanted to have my own career(teaching) and why I was not content  to stay at home and leave work outside the home to others.  She desperately wanted to be able to stay home, but could not.  I desperately wanted to finish my college education and teach, but could not. (I have since done both.)

I will have been married 16 years next Friday to my high school sweetheart. We are very happy. I have made friends on my own. I just turned 60 and I finally feel like I belong right where I am.

This represents my eclectic life.

For more on the topic of belong go on over Lisa-Jo's friend's place. 

Crystal is hosting this week.

Flowers and Quotes

Love is the answer, and you know that for sure;

Love is a flower; you've got to let it grow.

John Lennon

  A flower, which is single need not envy the thorns,

which are numerous.

Rabindranath Tagore

The fact that I can plant a seed

and it becomes a flower,

share a bit of knowledge 

and it becomes another's,

smile at someone

and receive a smile in return,

are to me

continual spiritual exercises.

Leo Buscaglia